Home / Election Day DC Bomb Plot: Rosenfeld made a 200-pound bomb planned to blow himself up says FBI

Election Day DC Bomb Plot: Rosenfeld made a 200-pound bomb planned to blow himself up says FBI

October 14, 2018 | Brainwave Science

SITUATION

According to Associated Press, Federal authorities have charged a New York man, Paul Rosenfeld, 56, of Tappan, with building a 200-pound (90-kilogram) bomb they say he planned to detonate on Election Day on the National Mall in Washington. Rosenfeld was charged with unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device and interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive. According to prosecutors Rosenfeld planned to use the bomb to kill himself and draw attention to a political system called sortition, in which public officials are chosen randomly rather than elected. Rosenfeld was caught after he started communicating his intentions to a person in Pennsylvania in September. That person alerted authorities. Rosenfeld had previously constructed smaller explosive devices for practice.

When the FBI raided Rosenfeld’s home they found a functional bomb in his basement that consisted of black powder inside a plywood box. FBI Agents also found empty canisters of black powder often used in firearms and artillery, the complaint said. William Sweeney Jr., the assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office, said in a statement that Rosenfeld intended to “detonate a large explosive to kill himself and draw attention to his radical beliefs.”

“Had he been successful, Rosenfeld’s alleged plot could have claimed the lives of innocent bystanders and caused untold destruction,” Sweeney said in the statement. “Fortunately, his plans were thwarted by the quick action of a concerned citizen and the diligent work of a host of our law enforcement partners and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.” Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists principally of agents of the FBI and detectives of the New York City Police Department. Mr Berman also thanked the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Stony Point Police Department, the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, New York State Police, and the Orangetown Police Department for their valuable assistance.

CHALLENGE

In the United States there exists a threat not only from terrorists who come and attack from overseas but also from those who live here. Threat faced by Americans comes from within as well. According to FBI the threat of domestic terrorism also remains persistent overall, with actors crossing the line from First Amendment protected rights to committing crimes to further their political agenda. Challenge in this case as well as many others involving domestic terrorism is that with all of the lethal attacks in the U.S. since 9/11 carried out by U.S. citizens or legal residents, the U.S. still lacks a domestic federal terrorism law that would help target U.S.-based terrorists like they do terrorists overseas. Even when domestic terrorists are caught, they often do less jail time for their crimes.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Paul M. Rosenfeld concocted a twisted plan to draw attention to his political ideology by killing himself on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.—risking harm to many others in the process. Rosenfeld’s alleged plan for an Election Day detonation cut against our democratic principles. Thanks to outstanding coordination between local and federal law enforcement, Rosenfeld’s alleged plot was thwarted, and he is now in federal custody.” This has been a lucky case breakthrough for the extensive investigation team of law enforcement agencies working in conjunction that has made this case noteworthy. However, not all cases are resolved with a happy note. Robust partnerships between the federal government and states and localities are also a crucial part of fighting 21st-century crime and terrorism. This where iCognative technology by Brainwave Science comes in to picture, while change in law enforcement environment for cooperative relationship between local, state, and federal authorities that is needed to combat the domestic terror threat, sometimes cases like the one of 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, by Army Major Nidal Hassan do slip through the gaps.

iCognative by Brainwave Science enhances combat capabilities of law enforcement at all levels to weed out bad actors from the very beginning of an investigation. Innocents are eliminated at the very beginning of any investigation by this technology thereby generating savings in time, efforts and money. In the case of Rosenfeld’s plan to attack National Mall on election day, the FBI can utilize investigation details related to this case such as: text messages exchanged with a known person regarding the plan in August, September; details about the purchase of large quantities of black powder—an explosive substance—over the Internet; vehicle used to transport explosive from a location in New Jersey to his home in Tappan, New York, etc., along with other details collected during case investigation and interviews of parents and family members (called Stimuli) is added to the iCognative system by the investigator to conduct testing.

Brainwave Science team has converted over 2 decades old, patent-free scientific technique into a revolutionary, user-friendly and portable technology that provides over 99% accuracy rates in virtually all cases and is extremely cost effective. Within an hour of testing iCognative technology can provide definitive answers to all questions related to this case for investigators.
It can help the FBI and local law enforcement officials find out if the perpetrator was acting alone or had someone who supported and funded him; was he planning other attacks; had he planned attacks in past; are there any other domestic terrorists he was in contact with who have similar inclinations to attack, etc.

The power of iCognative system lies in its facilitation for law enforcement agencies that can collaborate not just to prosecute but to prevent crime and serve the society, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together to solve, prevent violent crimes and domestic terrorism.